THE BIKE JOURNEY广 3 - 11 October 西 3 - 11 OCTOBER | THE GUANGXI BIKE JOURNEY 2

Destination Guangxi Guangxi feels like something straight out of a fairy tale. Lush rice terraces, meandering rivers, breathtaking mountains, and remote minority villages make this a destination like no other. Yangshou is a mecca for domestic and international outdoor enthusiasts alike, who use it as a base camp for exploring the vibrant countryside surrounding this travel-friendly town. Since its rise to popularity as a backpacker haven in the 1980s, Yangshuo has remained one of ’s top tourism draws ever since. The surrounding Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region is less-known, but equally spectacular and home to 11 different ethnic minorities and 16 beautiful rivers.

Guangxi offers something for everyone, be they foodies, thrill seekers, budding anthropologists, or nature enthusiasts. There is something otherworldly about the magical waters of Yangshuo giving a oneness with the land that keeps us coming back to explore again and again. Cycling past peaks on广 a dusty mountain trail, seeing our reflection in the mirror-like , adventurously tucking into a plate of spicy local fish, or simply viewing the moon through our guesthouse window, this land of ten thousand peaks will cast a spell on you. Join us on our Guangxi Bike Journey.西 Itinerary Program Overview

The following pages describe our itinerary, from meeting the group at the arrival point, right up to the moment you and the group leave to go home.

We’ve broken down the key structure of each day and included summaries of the 广program’s daily highlights and biking notes. 西 4

Day 1 - Bajiaozhai

Meals: Dinner Accommodation: Hotel

Morning • Morning flight from Beijing to Guilin, arriving 12:10 • Group introduction

Afternoon • Transfer to Bajiaozhai (2.5 hours) • Hiking in UNESCO Heritage Bajiaozhai National Park

Evening • Opening Dinner 广• Program introduction and Q & A • Bike fitting (time permitting) 西• Hotel Check-in 3 - 11 OCTOBER | THE GUANGXI BIKE JOURNEY 5

Day 2 Day 3 Bajiaozhai - Chetian - Chetian Datangwan

Meals: All provided Meals: All provided Accommodation: Guesthouse Accommodation: Guesthouse

Morning Morning • Local breakfast at hotel • Local breakfast at guesthouse • Morning bike ride to Guali village • Morning bike ride • Free time to wander around Guali • Stops at ancient local villages for tea village and village home visits

Afternoon Afternoon • Local village lunch • Lunch at the midway point • Afternoon bike ride to Baotian, and • Bike ride to Longsheng then Chetian • Guesthouse check-in • Guesthouse check-in Evening 广Evening • Free time • Free time for waterfall walks and • Local dinner night swim • Local dinner

The dazzling landscape of the 西 Guangxi countryside 3 - 11 OCTOBER | THE GUANGXI BIKE JOURNEY 6

Day 4 Day 5 Datangwan - Ping’an - Ping’an Shiertian

Meals: All provided Meals: All provided Accommodation: Guesthouse Accommodation: Hotel

Morning Morning • Local breakfast at guesthouse • Local breakfast at guesthouse • Morning bike ride along • Morning hike through rice terraces • Morning bike ride down through rice Afternoon terraces • Local lunch • Visit wholesale market in Longsheng Afternoon • Afternoon ride up rice terraces to • Lunch Pingan • Afternoon ride through pine and • Check-in to renovated Zhuang bamboo forests guesthouse • Optional rubber raft ride to hotel • Riverside hotel check-in Evening 广 • Free time to enjoy sunset views Evening • Local dinner • Dinner 西• Free time and games 3 - 11 OCTOBER | THE GUANGXI BIKE JOURNEY 7

Day 6 Day 7 Shiertian - Daxu - Daxu

Meals: All provided Meals: All provided Accommodation: Guesthouse Accommodation: Guesthouse

Morning Morning • Late breakfast at hotel • Local breakfast at guesthouse • Morning ride to Wutong • Morning ride along Li River • Arrive to Liusanjie tea plantation Afternoon Afternoon • Local lunch at Caoping • Local lunch at tea plantation • Afternoon ride through karst • Afternoon transfer to Daxu mountains and along Li river • Check into Old Town guesthouse • Check into Xingping guesthouse

Evening Evening 广• Free time to explore Daxu • Free time to explore Xingping • Local dinner • Local dinner

Rustic paths make for a cycling 西 enthusiast’s heaven 8

Day 8 Dragon River Valley

Meals: All provided Accommodation: Guesthouse

Morning • Local breakfast at guesthouse • Morning ride to Baisha

Afternoon • Lunch at the 400 year old Fuli Bridge • Afternoon ride through dirt paths and farms • Check into hotel 广Evening • Free time to explore area • Local celebratory dinner under the stars

Day 9 Departure Day

Meals: Breakfast 西Transfer to Guilin, farewell to Guangxi! 3 - 11 OCTOBER | THE GUANGXI BIKE JOURNEY 9

Taking in the views at Bajiaozhai National Park Day 1 Bajiaozhai National Park

After arriving in Guilin and some quick introductions, we hit the ground running with a transfer to the north of Guilin (2 1/2 hours) to the UNESCO Heritage Bajiaozhai National Park, famed for its unique red sandstone karst formations. Once here, we’ll hike up to the Buddhist temples on the highest peak for incredible views overlooking the neighbouring provinces of 广 Guangxi and Hunan. After a wander through these working temples and watching locals make offerings and wishes at these shrines, we return to our local hotel to set up the bikes (time permitting). Dinner tonight will feature a local feast featuring regional specialties. Over dinner we’ll go over the tour and 西 answer questions you may have. 3 - 11 OCTOBER | THE GUANGXI BIKE JOURNEY 10

Travelling the Guangxi countryside on two wheels

Today’s ride is a varied one that takes us up into the mountains. For the first few kilometres Day 2 we ride out of the park through tiny villages on quiet roads. The undulating terrain is set to a backdrop of forest and farmland, where you’ll see local people tending rice fields and livestock. Bajiaozhai to We take a sharp ascent up onto a ridge line where things flatten out before descending into a wider valley to our lunch stop in Guali village. The streets are teeming with local life and Chetian people may be curious to see foreigners here on bicycles. 广 After lunch it is a steady climb to the tiny village of Baotian, where we’ll break at a local school. 70 kilometers The descent on the other side takes us through forests, narrow gullies and a ravine. We’ll pass numerous villages and wooden houses built on the mountainsides which are nestled amongst rice terraces, fruit orchards and wild forest. We then have a short ride out of Chetian town towards our accommodation for the evening; a quiet basic guesthouse in a secluded valley with spectacular rock formations and waterfalls ideal for walks and swimming.

Riding: 70 km on quiet sealed road. General upward trend over 30km with 3 main climbs. One of 5km and two of 8kms, interspersed with flat sections, to the top of a pass, followed by a 10km 西 downhill with the remainder generally flat. 3 - 11 OCTOBER | THE GUANGXI BIKE JOURNEY 11

Today’s ride is a spectacular one as we have two passes and descents, and plenty of time to Day 3 stop and visit the many ancient villages along the way. This area is inhabited by Dong, Miao and Yao people and the villages see virtually no tourists. One of the great experiences of Chetian to the region is to simply stop and visit. Locals are sure to welcome you with a smile and are proud to see you look around their homes. It’s not uncommon to be invited in for a nice cup Longsheng Hot of tea! After the second climb it’s a long gentle downhill ride to the Longsheng Hot Springs. Well known in the local area, this is the perfect location to stop and soak your muscles after Springs the day’s ride. Tonight we stay in a small family run guesthouse in a narrow gorge with an outdoor natural hot spring. There is a great hike along the gorge to a local Miao village for 40 kilometers those with some energy left. 广 Riding: 40 km. Sealed road with two small passes, after which it is 25 km of gentle downhill. 西 3 - 11 OCTOBER | THE GUANGXI BIKE JOURNEY 12

Day 4 Longsheng to Ping’an 67 kilometers

Today we continue cycling along the Xun River, an area that was part of the Long March and served as Mao Zedong’s secret hideout for many years. Once in Longsheng, we’ll check out the local market. This is where much of the region’s produce ends up before being traded to far off locations around China or to local kitchens. There is a vast array of goods for sale, exotic and sometimes strange, but always colourful and intriguing. We arrive in Ping’an (a village by the Longsheng rice terraces) in 广 time to sit back and enjoy the sunset views from the terrace of our traditionally-built Zhuang guesthouse.

Riding: 67 km. Gentle undulations in the morning to lunch (35km) then 26km of generally flat roads with some small hills to the Longji Terraces and one steep 6km climb 西 to end. 3 - 11 OCTOBER | THE GUANGXI BIKE JOURNEY 13

hiking along the Dragon’s Backbone rice terraces

Day 5 Today starts, after breakfast, with a morning hike up to the viewpoints surrounding the village Ping’an to for some of the more dizzying views of the trip. Cascading rice terraces snake across ridgelines and draw photographers from across the country. Built over 600 years ago by the local Zhuang and Yao minority groups, the Dragon’s Backbone Longji rice terraces are an incredible feat Shiertan of irrigation and agriculture. We’ll return to the bikes for a fantastic switchback back down 广 the mountainside with the rest of the day on quiet sealed roads undulating through pine and 60 kilometers bamboo forests, often passing villages tucked away in the hills. The views are spectacular as we head up a steady climb that’s followed by the fastest twisting descent of the trip to lunch.

In the afternoon there is some paddles for a sometimes thrilling, sometimes serene, optional rubber raft ride directly to our riverside hotel. We’ll settle in for the evening with a chance to explore the area on foot or try ping pong before a banquet of tasty local dishes. 西 Riding: 61 km. Very quiet sealed roads on generally hilly terrain. One 12 km climb. 3 - 11 OCTOBER | THE GUANGXI BIKE JOURNEY 14

Snapping shots in Daxu

Day 6 A morning of completely flat cycling! We make our way through the village of Wantian and Shiertan to visit the market. After lunch, we transfer to Daxu, a Ming-era village that retains some of its centuries-old architecture and was one of the bigger trading towns along the Li River, a route that connected the north via Guilin’s ancient Ling canal to the Yangze River, and south via the Wutong & Daxu Li and Pearl rivers to . Daxu is a fine example of what old world China once was, 广 with cobblestone lanes, a 400 year old stone arch bridge and people still living in wooden 30 kilometers dwellings roofed in classic black tiles. We’ll have plenty of time for a wander down the old streets, view the riverside bustle and pop our heads into one of the old courtyard houses to see how the better off once lived. There’s plenty of antiques and curios on offer by the dozens of hawkers along the old main laneway. Along with the obligatory snake oil salesmen, you’ll find sellers offering Mao’s Little Red Book and other communist paraphernalia, as well as purveyors of the weird and wonderful herbs and remedies.

Riding: 30km. Flat sealed country lanes and bike path with small sections on dirt tracks and some 西 short sections on main roads. 3 - 11 OCTOBER | THE GUANGXI BIKE JOURNEY 15

Fishing along the Li River

We hit the road, literally cobble stones to begin with, and make our way on and off a designated Day 7 cycle path along the Li River through bamboo forests and along the water’s edge. We’ll pass by several villages, including a Hui village with its own mosque which is extremely rare in Daxu to Southern China – a legacy of population movement forced through past conflicts. Xingping At Caoping, we stop for lunch before a climb up to take in what the Chinese often refer to as ‘the finest scenery under heaven’ – karst mountains overhanging the river. We take a hilly 广 route following the Li, glimpsing these spectacular mountains above and below, crossing the 65 kilometers river by ferry before a long downhill, another ferry crossing, and a flat run into Xingping, an old port village, and our guesthouse views over the town. Xingping, famed for the scenes on the 20 yuan note, is becoming quite a tourism hotspot. Despite the occasional crowds, it is an interesting place to wander around and there are lots of little cafes and handicrafts to check out, adding to its charm. There are some spectacular lookouts and swimming spots too.

Riding: 65 km. Generally flat sealed roads for 10km followed by three short climbs to lunch. Three 西 longer climbs after lunch are separated with downhills and flat riding on quiet mountain roads. 3 - 11 OCTOBER | THE GUANGXI BIKE JOURNEY 16

Our last day is a real highlight. We’ll cross the Li River by ferry and make our way back into the Day 8 hills high above the Li River. Snaking our way through fruit orchards and tiny villages we head to Baisha, a small town famed for its stone work and bustling market. The morning features Dragon River some longer climbs before a downhill into Baisha. Valley After lunch at the 400 year old Fuli Bridge, we cycle through small villages, pomelo groves and rice fields. The final section of the day’s ride is through the stunning Dragon River Valley where we take dirt trails through rice fields surrounded with mountains before settling in a 45 kilometers local farmer’s village at one of the most charming hotels of the tour. Weather permitting we’ll eat under the stars and enjoy a beer by the pool!

Riding: 45km. Sealed roads with several climbs and descents, short sections on dirt tracks and 广 trails. 西 17

The tour in was spectacular. Incredible landscapes, beautiful villages and the roads and the paths were really comfortable and the mountain bikes were very comfortable. Thank you for one of the best experiences on the road of my life.

Ugo What a fantastic time! Travelling in China can be challenging in many ways, so having an authentic experience is not always easy. A Hutong bike journey is the absolutely perfect way to experience a new travelling frontier, sink into a culture genuinely and truthfully and have a great time the whole way. If you want to see China, cycle, eat great food, meet real locals and learn what it is to be in China nowadays, look no further. Outstanding value and the best imaginable way to see China.

Charlie 3 - 11 OCTOBER | THE GUANGXI BIKE JOURNEY 19

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BE A GOOD EGG EMBRACE DIVERSITY LIGHT A SPARK Throughout our journeys, we encourage We are honest, respectful We learn from others and We love what we do and participants to push their boundaries, explore and 100% reliable. We’re broaden our minds by seeking are eager to share our their surrounding culture and embrace a basket full of good out different perspectives enthusiasm. Our passion sustainable travel. eggs. and proactively embracing lights a spark These notions are born out of our six Hutong diversity. 广Core Values.

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